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(No Model.)

T. G. JOHNSON. CARTRIDGE PACKET;

Patented Mar. 8, 1898.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS C. JOHNSON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE\VINGHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CARTRIDG E-PACKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,366, dated March 8,1898.

Application filed August 10,1897. Serial No. 647,673. (No model.)

T0 on whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. JOHNSON, of New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Gonnecticut,have invented a new Improvement inCartridge-Packets; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in-

Figure 1, a view in elevation of the left-hand side of one form which acartridge-packet constructed in accordance with my invention may assume;Fig. 2, a similar view of the righthand side of the packet; Fig. 3, aplan view of the packet; Fig. 4, a reverse plan view thereof; Fig. 5, aView in elevation of the rear end of the packet; Fig. 6, a view of thepacket in vertical transverse section on the line a b of Fig. 1; Fig. 7,a view in partial longitudinal section on the line 0 d of the samefigure; Fig. 8, a view of the sheet-metal blank from which the packet isformed; Fig. 9, a view in elevation of the left-hand side of one of themodified forms which the packet may assume; Fig. 10, a view of thepacket in horizontal section on the line e f of Fig. 9; Fig. 11, abroken view in elevation of the front end of still another modificationof my improved packet; Fig. 12, a reverse plan view of the same part.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class ofcartridge-packets which are designed for the convenient carriage of acharge of cartridges in readiness for their quick introduction into agun of the box-magazine type, the object being to produce a very simple,cheap, light, compact, and convenient packet of the character described.

\Vith these ends in view my invention consists in a cartridge-packethaving certain details of construction, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

My improved cartridge-packet is preferably made from a single piece ofsheet metal, and as viewed in side elevation tapers from its rear to itsforward end, its upper end being more markedly inclined forward than itslower end. Its rear, forward, and upper ends are closed, while its lowerend is made open for the introduction and expulsion of the cartridges.

In the form in which my improved packet is shown in Figs. 1 to 8,inclusive, of the drawings its body is virtually divided into a forwardportion A and a rear portion A by means of a wide transversely-arrangedexpulsion-passage B, which intersects its upper end or top and extendsdownward farther into the right-hand wall of the packet than into theleft-hand wall thereof. Here I may state that for convenience ofdescription I shall refer to the side of the packet which is on the leftat the time the packet is applied to the gun for the expulsion of itscontained cartridges as the left-hand side of the packet and the side onthe right when the packet is applied to the gun as the right-hand sideof the packet. For convenience of description I shall also speak of thesaid expulsion-passage as having a long and a short arm, that portion ofthe passage in the right-hand wall of the packet being its long arm andthat portion in the left-hand wall of the packet being its short arm.The short arm of the said expulsion-passage terminates in asubstantially horizontal left-hand tie O, which connects the forwardportion of the packet with the rear portion thereof. Below the said tiethe said left-hand wall of the packet is cut away to the rear end wallof the packet, so as to form what I shall call the extractoropening D,for the reason that it permits the extractor to'spring in over the topcartridge, whereby the column of cartridges is retained in the gunagainst the upward thrust of the carrier.

The long arm of the expulsionpassage extends downward to a substantiallyhorizontal right-hand tie O, which also connects the forward and rearportions of the packet. The said ties C and O are located, therefore, inparallel vertical planes, but in different elevations, the tie 0 beinglocated entirely above the tie O. For the purpose of enlarging theexpulsion-passage and for guiding the thumb as the same is exerting itslast expulsive effort the upper edge of the tie O is slightly turnedoutward to form a lip c, which coacts with the wall of the gun-frame, soas to form a comparatively unbroken surface for the thumb to glide over.This lip also avoids the possible cutting of the thumb, especially ifthe metal from which the packet is made is very thin.

The cartridges are retained in the packet after their introductionthereinto by the combined action of a yielding lip E and aslightlyyielding forwardly-inclined finger F, dependin g from the rearwall of the rear portion of the packet. The lip E is produced byslightly setting inward the lower rear corner and edge of the left-handwall of the forward portion A of the packet. This lip holds the columnof cartridges in place by snapping over the middle portion of the bottomcartridge. The forwardly-yielding finger F assists in holding thecartridges in the clip after their introduction thereinto by engagingwith the lower edge of the head of the bottom cartridge. This fingeralso performs the additional func tion of pushing the cartridges forwardslightly at the time of their expulsion from the packet, whereby theyare introduced into the gun in such a way that they will not be fouled.

In order that the forward ends of the cartridges may be prevented frommoving laterally, the forward end of the forward portion of the packetis formed with two vertically-arranged opposing inwardly-set grooves GG, upon the inner faces of which the bullets of the cartridges rest, sothat there is scarcely any lateral play in the forward ends of thecartridges. Beyond these grooves the packet has a roundedvertically-arranged tube-like end Gr, open at the top and bottom. Thelower edge of this end enters the so-called receiver-chamber in theframe of the gun and takes a bearing therein, so as to support theforward'end of the packet during the expulsion of cartridges therefrom.Preferably the forward portion of the packet is lightened by forming inits opposite side walls large circular openings H H, which, however, arenot required, and which if employed may assume any other desired form.Thus instead of a large opening in each side of the packet a pluralityof smaller openings might be formed. The rear portion of the packet ispreferably supported when the packet is applied to the gun by aspring-controlled extractor, which coacts with the bolt of the gun, aswill be described later on.

As before mentioned, my improved packet is preferably formed from asingle piece of metal. For the illustration of this point I have shownin Fig. 8 such a sheet-metal blank as may be used for the formation ofthe packet. The portions of this blank corresponding to the severalfeatures of the completed packet I have designated by the same lettersas those employed to identify those portions in the foregoingdescription. It will be observed by reference to this figure that theends of the blank are lapped upon each other to form the rear wall ofthe rear portion of the packet. These ends may be riveted together byrivets a, passing through rivetholes a, or they may be secured togetherin any other approved manner, as by interlocking the metal or by solder.

In the use of my improved packet it is filled through its open lower endwith cartridges, the heads of which are set under the finger F,-afterwhich the body portions of the cartridges are snapped by slight effortunder the spring-lip E, which coacts with the finger in holding theentire charge of cartridges in the packet by engaging with the lowermostcartridge of the charge. Then the packet has been so charged, it may befreely handled and even thrown about without any danger of dislodgingthe cartridges. It is designed, of course, that in the use of thepackets they shall be carried in a suitably-adapted belt. The yieldingfinger, formed integral with and projecting forward from the lower endof the rear Wall of the rear portion of the packet, is a very importantfactor in holding the cartridges in the packet, inasmuch as it will notspring and release the cartridges, as it would if it were located on oneof the long side walls of the packet, the said side walls being muchlonger than the rear wall, and therefore easier sprung.

When it is desired to introduce the contents of a packet into the gun,the packet is set into the receiver-chamber of the frame of the gun sothat its extreme forward end will rest upon the side walls of the saidchamber, while the extractor-opening in its left-hand wall will.

receive the extractor, upon which the rear end of the packet willpreferably be supported by the engagement of the lower edge of the tie Cwith the upper face of the extractor. Here I may state that the packetis designed to be used in guns of the type shown by United States PatentNo. 547,583, granted October 8, 1885, to James Paris Lee, for animproved magazine-firearm. Reference to this patent will make itunnecessary to illustrate herein such a gun. The packet being thussupported, the cartridges are expelled by the downward pressure upon theseries by the thumb, which follows the cartridges down through theexpulsion -'passage 13 of the packet. It will be understood that thedownward pressure of the thumb is sufficient to spring the retaining-lipand finger F enough to permit the escape of cartridges. The finger F,however, yields but slightly and does not straighten out, but keeps itsforward inclination, so that it gives aforward impulse to each cartridgeas it issues from the packet. As the cartridges are expelled they ridedownward by the extractor, which bears on each one as it glides down andfinally snaps inward over the top cartridge, so as to hold the entireseries of cartridges in the gun against the upward thrust of the springof the carrier of the cartridge-feeding mechanism of the gun. Thecartridges having thus been expelled from the packet, the same is eitherremoved by hand or allowed to drop away from the gun, from which it willreceive an ejecting impulse due to the fact that the downward pressureof the cartridges places the carrier-sprin g under tension,which iscommunicated to the packet through the cartridges and the finger at therear end of the packet.

These packets may be used over and over, if desired, although it isdesigned to make them at such small cost that they need not be recoveredand reused.

In Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawings I have shown a slightly-modified formof the packet, the modification consisting in folding the metal aroundthe expulsion-passage outward, as at L, to form smooth edges for thepacket. This will be a desirable construction when the packet is formedof sheet metal so thin that it might otherwise cut the fingers. In Fig.10 also the extreme forward end of the packet is made substantiallysquare in form, as at L, instead of rounded, as in the constructionfirst described.

If desired, the yielding lip E may be dispensed with and its place takenby a rearwardly-turned yielding finger M, formed by vertically slittingthe extreme forward end of the packet, as at m m, and setting the metalbetween those slits inward. This finger assists in holding the charge ofcartridges in the packet by engaging with the lower face of the bottombullet.

The packets herein shown and described are designed to be supported attheir rear ends by the resting of the upper wall of theextractor-opening upon the upper face of the extractor; but this is notan essential feature of construction, for the rear end of the packetmight be otherwise supported when applied to a gun for the expulsion ofits charge of cartridges.

In View of the modifications shown and suggested and of others which maybe obviously made I would have it understood that I do not limit myselfto the exact constructions herein shown and described, but hold myselfat liberty to make such alterations as fairly fall within the spirit andscope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A cartridge-packet formed with an expulsion-passage having a long anda short arm, the long arm of the passage being located in the right-handwall of the packet, and the short arm of the passage being lo cated inthe left-hand wall of the packet and the said packet being also formedwith an extractor-opening located in its left-hand wall below the shortarm of the passage.

2. A sheet-metal cartridge-packet formed with an expulsion-passagehaving a long and a short arm, its long arm being located in theright-hand wall of the packet and its short aim being located in theleft-hand wall of the packet, the rear and forward portions of which areunited by two ties of which the left-hand tie is located above theright-hand tie, and the said packet being also formed with anextractor-opening located in the left-hand wall of the'packet below theelevated left-hand tie.

3. A cartridge-packet formed with a transversely-arrangedexpulsion-passage having a long and a short arm, and with anextractoropening located below the short arm of the said passage, andprovided with an inwardlyturned cartridge-retaining lip formed by anextension of that one of the two side walls of the package whichcontains the said extractoropening, at the forward lower corner of whichthe said lip is located.

4:. A sheet-metal cartridge-packet formed with an expulsion-passagehaving a long and a short arm, its long arm being located in theright-hand wall of the packet and its short arm being located in theleft-hand wall thereof, and the packet being also formed at a pointbelow the short arm of the said expulsion-passage with anextractor-opening which receives the extractor of the gun, the forwardend of the packet engaging with the gun for being supported thereby, andformed with two opposing vertically-arranged inwardlyset ribs whichengage with the bullets of the cartridges and prevent the same fromlateral play.

5. A cartridge-packet having its left-hand wall formed with anextractor-opening which receives the extractor of the gun, and the upperwall of which rests upon the upper face of the extractor for supportingthe rear end of the packet at the time the cartridgesare expelled fromit, and the forward end of the packet also engaging with the gun forbeing supported thereby.

6. A sheet-metal cartridge-packet, formed with a transverseexpulsion-passage having a long and a short arm, horizontally-arrangedties located below the said arms of the passage and joining the forwardand rear portions of the packet, the said ties being located in parallelvertical planes, but the left-hand tie being located at a higherelevation than the right-hand tie, and the said packet being also formedwith an extractor-opening located below the said left-hand tie, with ayielding lip for engagement with the bottom cartridge of the charge inthe packet, with a forwardlyinclined yielding finger depending from therear wall of the rear portion of the packet, and with twovertically-arranged ribs located in the forward portion of the packetfor engagement with the bullets of the cartridges, to prevent the samefrom playing laterally.

7. A cartridge-packet having its top and left-hand Wall of the packet,and the said In testimony whereof I have signed this packet being alsoformed with an extractorspecification in the presence of two subscrib-IO opening located in its left-hand wall below the ing Witnesses.

short arm of the said passa e and provided 5 at its open bottom with tWoZartridge-retain- THOWAS JOHNSON ing instrnmentalities for engaging withthe \Vitnesses: bottom cartridge for holding the charge of LILLIAN D.KELSEY,

cartridges in the packet. GEORGE D. SEYMOUR.

